VOLUNTARY STANDARDS FOR THE COMPOSITION AND LABELING OF SOYMILK IN THE UNITED STATES ACCEPTED BY THE SOYFOODS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA March, 1996 Voluntary Standards for the Composition and Labeling of Soymilk in the United States Accepted by The Soyfoods Association of America March, 1996 Table of Contents I. Purpose of Voluntary Standards..................................................................2 II. History and Terminology of Soymilk A. History .....................................................................................................3 B. Existing Standards in Other Countries .......................................5 C. Terminology...........................................................................................7 III. Definition and Classification of Soymilk Products A. Soymilk Definition .............................................................................10 B. Soymilk Classification.......................................................................10 IV. Labeling of Soymilk Products A. General ..................................................................................................12 B. Modifiers to the Statement of Identity......................................12 C. Use Date Labeling..............................................................................13 D. Refrigeration Information Labeling .............................................13 V. Microbiological Guidelines for Soymilk ..................................................14 VI. Standards Committee; Adoption and Amendment of Standards................................................15 Soymilk Standards of the Soyfoods Association of America Page 1 I. PURPOSE OF VOLUNTARY STANDARDS The purpose of voluntary industry standards for the composition and labeling of soymilk in the United States is to: • Promote honesty and fair dealing in the interest of consumers. • Help to ensure that the soymilk consumer receives a quality product. • Establish consistency and fairness in labeling. • Disseminate sound nutritional information. The SOYFOODS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA1 recommends that all manufacturers and marketers of soymilk and soymilk products comply with the following standards for such products. NOTE: These standards are intended as a voluntary supplement to the requirements of federal and state law, including the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, Title 21, United States Code, section 301 et seq., as amended by the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, and regulations of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, part 1 et seq., applicable to foods. These voluntary standards are not intended to conflict in any way with any requirements of federal or state law. At certain locations, these voluntary standards refer to particular applicable requirements of federal or state laws; however, they are not intended to be a complete compilation of applicable laws. A company should consult with its own legal counsel or labeling adviser to be certain that it is in compliance with federal and state law before marketing any product. 1 The Soyfoods Association of America is a trade association formed in 1979 to represent the soyfoods producers and marketers in the United States. For more information, contact: Soyfoods Association of America at P.O. Box 3179 • Walnut Creek, CA 94598 • PH: 510.935.9764 • FAX: 510.935.9721. Soymilk Standards of the Soyfoods Association of America Page 2 II. HISTORY AND TERMINOLOGY OF SOYMILK A. HISTORY Archaeological evidence (a Chinese mural incised on a stone slab) shows that soymilk and tofu were being made in Northern China during the Eastern/Later Han period (A.D. 25-220).2 The earliest known written reference to soymilk appeared in about A.D. 1500 in China, in a poem by Su Ping.3 The earliest known European reference to soymilk was in 1665 by Domingo Fernández de Navarrete, who served as a Dominican missionary in China.4 Soymilk was also mentioned in 1790 by Juan de Loureiro, a Portuguese Jesuit missionary who lived in what is now Vietnam.5 Each of these and many other early references mentioned soymilk as part of the process for making tofu. The world’s earliest known discussion of soymilk as a drink in its own right appeared in 1866, when the Frenchman Paul Champion, who had traveled in China, stated that the Chinese had taken their cups to tofu shops to get hot soymilk which they drank for breakfast.6 Soymilk was first referred to in the United States by Henry Trimble in 1896 in the American Journal of Pharmacy.7 In 1909, a U.S. pediatrician developed the first soy-based infant formulas and soymilk from full-fat soy flour. In 1910, Li Yu-ying, a Chinese citizen in Paris founded the world’s first soy dairy and was granted the first British patent for soymilk production (No. 30,275. “Vegetable milk and its derivatives”). In 1913, Li Yu-ying was granted the first U.S. patent for soymilk (No. 1,064,841). By 1917, soymilk was being produced commercially in the U.S. by J.A. Chard Soy Products in New York City.8 2 Chen, Wenhua, 1990. The origin of doufu - When was it first made? (abstract). Paper presented at the Sixth International Conference on the History of Science in China, held Aug. 1990 at Robinson College, Cambridge, England. 3 Su Ping. 1500. Ode to tofu. Quoted by Wai, 1964, p. 91-92. 4 Navarrete, Domingo Fernández de. 1665. A Collection of Voyages and Travels. Published by the author, London. See p. 251-52, Chap. 13. 5 Loureiro, Juan de. 1790. The Flora of Cochin China, Vol. 2, Lisbon, Portugal. See p. 441-42. 6 Champion, Paul. 1866. On the production of tofu in China and Japan. Bulletin de al Societe d’Acclimation 13(6):562-65. June. 7 Trimble, Henry. 1896. Recent literature on the soja bean. American J. of Pharmacy 68:309-13. June. 8 Piper, C.V.; Morse, W.J. 1916. The soy bean with special reference to its utilization for oil, cake and other products. U.S.D.A. Bulletin No. 439. Dec. 22. p. 9; Horvath, A.A. 1927. The soybean as human food. Chinese Government Bureau of Economic Information, Booklet Series, No. 3. p. 47. Soymilk Standards of the Soyfoods Association of America Page 3 By the 1950’s, soymilk began to enter the “modern era” largely due to work done by K.S. Lo of Vitasoy in Hong Kong and Yeo Hiap Seng in Singapore, which resulted in soymilk being marketed in bottles like soft drinks. In 1966, scientists at Cornell University discovered that the enzyme lipoxygenase was responsible for creating the “beany” flavor in soymilk and developed a process which could be used to help eliminate this flavor. Another major breakthrough in soymilk technology came in 1967 in Singapore when soymilk began to be packaged aseptically in Tetra Pak cartons. This allowed soymilk to be sold without refrigeration for six months or more. During the 1970’s and 1980’s, soymilk became a popular beverage throughout Asia and its popularity spread to Europe, Australia and the United States. In the early 1980’s, both Eden Foods of Clinton, Michigan, and Vitasoy (USA) Inc. of Brisbane, California, began importing soymilk drinks from Japan and Hong Kong, respectively. As a result, consumers in North America were introduced to modern, bland tasting soymilk, in a long-life package. The first comprehensive study of the soymilk market in the United States was published in February, 1984. It estimated that total consumption in the U.S. in 1983 (not including soy-based infant formulas) was 2.68 million gallons. By 1991 there were at least 35 processors or marketers of soymilk in the U.S. Production increased to approximately 9.8 million gallons of soymilk, and consumption was estimated to be growing at between 15 and 20% per year since 1984.9 By 1993, more than 200 scientific journal articles about soymilk had been published in English and at least 80 English-language patents on soymilk had been issued between 1912 and 1993.10 According to a market study published in 1995, an estimated $108 million of soymilk was sold in the U.S. in 1994. This equates to approximately 13.5 million gallons of soymilk. By 1995, sales were projected to rise to over $130 million, or approximately 16.3 million gallons.11 9 Golbitz, Peter; Soyatech, Inc., 1991; estimates based on industry survey conducted in 1991. 10 The early history of soymilk, as described above, is documented in: Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko. 1984. Soymilk Industry and Market. Lafayette, Calif.: Soyfoods Center. p. 10-11, 24. It is updated for these soymilk standards in a letter from William Shurtleff to Peter Golbitz dated 3 October 1993. 11 The Meat and Dairy Alternatives Market, May 1995; Packaged Facts, New York. 1995. p.37, 138. Soymilk Standards of the Soyfoods Association of America Page 4 B. EXISTING STANDARDS IN OTHER COUNTRIES As sales and consumption of soymilk have steadily increased around the world, standards for its composition and labeling have been adopted in Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Thailand and Korea. Figure 1. below summarizes the various categories and compositional characteristics for soymilk for the countries shown. These are meant to serve as summaries only and do not constitute the entire standards for any of the countries listed. Figure 1. Soymilk Standards for Various Countries minimum requirements Soybean Country Product Protein Fat solids Japan Soymilk 3.8% — 8.0% Blended soymilk 3.0% — 6.0%-8.0% Soymilk beverage 1.8% — 4.0%-6.0% Soy protein beverage 1.8%* Taiwan† Soymilk 2.6% 0.5% Formulated soymilk 2.0% 0.5% Soy drink 1.4% 0.5% Singapore Soymilk 2.0% Soy drink >2.0%